The SEC non-conference schedule has all the walkovers you’re used to (poor UMass) and quite a few interesting games that could go either way.
With the season starting tonight, we looked at each team’s non-conference slate to see if we could find a potential loss. The predicted losses are in bold.
Alabama
Non-conference opponents: vs. USC in Dallas; Western Kentucky; Kent State; Chattanooga).
What to expect: The Trojans are certainly a live underdog in a season-opening showdown with the Tide at AT&T Stadium, but I think the Tide will survive that game. Kent State is Nick Saban’s alma mater so maybe he’ll go easy on them but that seems unlikely. Otherwise the best chance for a Tide loss outside of the SEC will be in the College Football Playoff.
Arkansas
Non-conference opponents: Louisiana Tech; at TCU; Texas State; Alcorn State.
What to expect: The Louisiana Tech game might be interesting if Tech gets its offense rolling, but the road game at TCU is the real show here. The Razorbacks will still be breaking in a new backfield against a team with eight returning defensive starters and that will be too much for Arkansas to handle.
Auburn
Non-conference opponents: Clemson; Arkansas State; Louisiana-Monroe; Alabama A&M.
What to expect: Clemson has the nation’s top quarterback in Deshaun Watson and he will be pulling the trigger on one of the nation’s most explosive offenses. Maybe the home opener will be closer than expected, but Clemson is the better team and they will win in the Plains.
Florida
Non-conference opponents: UMass; North Texas; Presbyterian; at Florida State.
What to expect: The first three non-conference game aren’t worth discussing, so this comes down to what kind of team Florida will be at the end of the season when they face their in-state rivals from Tallahassee. Jimbo Fisher is 5-1 vs. Florida but the one loss was in Tallahassee, so the Seminoles aren’t unbeatable there. Still, too much Dalvin Cook, and FSU’s defense is a bad matchup for the Gators.
Georgia
Non-conference opponents: vs. North Carolina in Atlanta; Nicholls State; Louisiana-Lafayette; Georgia Tech.
What to expect: The Bulldogs won’t leave the state for their non-conference slate. North Carolina has had tendency to struggle in these early games against SEC opponents, but the Tar Heels are a tested team with a lot of returning starters while Georgia will have a new coach and probably a new quarterback that will need a few games to get going.
Kentucky
Non-conference opponents: Southern Miss; New Mexico State; Austin Peay; at Louisville.
What to expect: The Wildcats seem like a good bet to make a bowl game this year with three very winnable non-conference games all at home. The road game is at Louisville and the Cardinals are a sleeper team to win the ACC and should be able to outlast Kentucky in a high-scoring affair.
LSU
Non-conference opponents: vs. Wisconsin at Green Bay; Jacksonville State; Southern Miss; South Alabama.
What to expect: Wisconsin will be a live underdog in the season-opening game at Lambeau Field and if LSU isn’t aggressive on offense they will find themselves in a tough battle. That being said, the Tigers are no strangers to tough opening-season games and they have survived almost all of them. This year will be no different.
Mississippi State
Non-conference opponents: South Alabama; at UMass; at BYU; Samford.
What to expect: The Bulldogs are one of the rare SEC programs to leave the state twice in non-conference play, although the UMass game is a “neutral-site” contest at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The toughest game on this slate is a Week 7 road trip to BYU, but the Bulldogs should survive with a close victory.
Missouri
Non-conference opponents: at West Virginia; Eastern Michigan; Delaware State; Middle Tennessee.
What to expect: Both Missouri and West Virginia are looking for a win to kick start their season after fairly disappointing 2015 campaigns. The Mountaineers are not unbeatable at home and the Tigers are tough in non-conference play. It was their 1-7 conference record that did them in last season. I think Missouri will be tougher in conference this year and they will need to be to offset an opening-day loss to their Big XII opponent.
Ole Miss
Non-conference opponents: vs. Florida State in Orlando; Wofford; Memphis; Georgia Southern.
What to expect: The Rebels will have the first task of stopping Dalvin Cook in a game the Heisman candidate will be fully healthy for. Memphis and Georgia Southern are tricky home games that can go bad if the Rebels aren’t prepared. That being said, Ole Miss should recover after their loss on Labor Day.
South Carolina
Non-conference opponents: East Carolina; UMass; Western Carolina; at Clemson.
What to expect: The Gamecocks will lose on the road to Clemson as to erase any drama there. The East Carolina game looks like a trap game for a team that’s opening the season with two games on the road. South Carolina still will be working out some kinks on offense (especially at quarterback) and ripe for the upset.
Tennessee
Non-conference opponents: Appalachian State; vs. Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway; Ohio; Tennessee Tech.
What to expect: If the Volunteers want to be taken seriously as SEC title contenders this year, they will need to steamroll Virginia Tech, which likely will struggle to score this season. The rest of Tennessee’s non-conference should provide little resistance.
Texas A&M
Non-conference opponents: UCLA; Prairie View A&M; New Mexico; Texas-San Antonio.
What to expect: UCLA has non-conference road wins against Texas (twice), Nebraska and Virginia in the past six years, so the Bruins will be a tough challenge for a team breaking in a new (albeit experienced) quarterback and trying to prove that they are going to follow a recent trend of being good, but not good enough.
Vanderbilt
Non-conference opponents: Middle Tennessee; at Georgia Tech; at Western Kentucky; Tennessee State.
What to expect: Vandy is the other SEC program that will leave their home state twice in non-conference play. The Commodores might need to compete for a bowl to keep Derek Mason’s job, which means they will need to pull an upset in one of those two road non-conference games. Middle Tennessee won’t be a walk in the park, either.
Corey Long is a freelance writer for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Corey on Twitter @CoreyLong.
